Web slitting means and method



Dec. 12, 1944. O l l A, AYCQCK @364,888

WEB SLITTING MEANS AND METHOD Filed Jan. 23, 1945 2 SheetS-Sheel', 2

Snventor:

Ctfomeg, Y

Patented Dec.' 12 1944 WEB SLITTWG MEANS i, l

f METHQD John A. ycoclr, Rock S. C., assigner to ch Hill )Printing @c Finishing Company, a corporation of Delaware application January 23, i943, Serial No. @3.3M

i (Claims.

This invention relates to slitting and winding or rewinding machines, i. e., machines for cutting relatively Wide webs of paper and other laid,

matted or woven fabrics such as textiles and various other sheet materials, into a number of narrower strips, the web being supplied and delivered to the cutting means from either a folded bolt or a roll of the material placed upon or in proximity to the machine.

The invention has to do more particularly with the winding of the slitted material into a plurality of individual reels grouped on a common mandrel, and the transverse severance of the unwound portions of the strips at a place between the grouped reels and the slitting means of the machine, together with an improved method of dolng the so severed, reeled strips from the machine and starting into new reels the loose ends of the portions of the strips remaining on the machine.

The conventional method heretofore generally followed in 'dofling the reeled slitted material on slitting machines requires thatl the Wound reels as grouped on the winding mandrel be pulled intact off the batcher rolls towards the operator and onto a supporting shelf or table. Itis then necessary for the operator to hold steady the so positioned grouped reels with one hand while using his other hand to manipulate a knife or shears to sever the several strips transversely at a place between the reels and the batcher rolls from which the reels have just previously been removed; As the usual group ofl reels is of considerable length this is a rather awkward and difficult accomplishment.

In addition to the above noted difliculty, there is a further disadvantage in the heretofore conventional method of starting the loose ends of the remaining stripped portions of the web material individually intonew reels. In accomplishing this, extreme care has to be exercised to sever the strips close to the wound reels so as to leave suliicient, uniform lengths of the remaining stripped portions of material to be thrown back across the batcher rolls by the hands of the operator and still have enough in excess to be then thrown forward and wrapped around a new reel-sleeved mandrel that is placed on top of the thus back-folded strips on the batcher rolls. 'I'he reel-sleeved mandrel being thus placed, the loose end portions of the strips of material are then carried individually, by hand, forwardly over the sleeved mandrel and each strip is individually wedged between the forward batcher roll and the respective sleeves on the mandrel by the use cfa hladed implement similar to a putty knife or a spatula.

Not only does the same operator who pulls the grouped reels of slitted material from the batcher rolls and transversely severs the slitted material, have to lift and remove from the machine the mandrel with the completed grouped reels of material intact thereon, but he also has to start the several remaining stripped portions of material into the new reels. 'Ihis requires considerable skillful manipulation and straightening of the said stripped portions individually before they can be properly wedged under the reel-sleeved mandrel. Hence, a very long period 0f time is consumed for the completed wound reel domng and new reel starting procedure as compared to the actual web slitting time. This is of serious consequence when the slitting and reeling of wide web material is carried out on a large scale production basis. For example, in actual practice, in using the aforesaid heretofore conventional method in the slitting of forty inch width burlap web into twenty narrow strips and winding the strips into one hundred yard reels, the time required for dofng a group of wound reels all on one mandrel and starting a new group was between sixty and ninety seconds.

By using the method of the present invention, the time for the doiilng of the completed reels and starting of new reels has been cut from the above noted sixty to ninety seconds down to twelve to fteen seconds. Therefore, since the be increased two hundred to three hundred per cent by following the procedure in accordance with the present invention.

The prime object of the present invention is to facilitate a 1l Vmanual operations and minimize the time consumed in the winding of the slitted material and the domng of the completed wound reels and starting of new reels.

The invention consists generally in a provision for moving the completed reels of wound strips intact on the winding mandrel away from the operator and onto a special rearward supporting element, and; in so doing, carrying a portion of the unwound strips across an intermediate supporting element having provision for temporarily holding the overlying strip portions from both longitudinal and transverse movehaving this intermediate supporting element movable from its normal position and usable either manually or mechanically and automati-4 cally so lthat, after severance of the strips, and the completed reels of slitted material have been removed and a new reel-sleeved mandrel placed across the remaining slitted material on top of the two batcher rolls, said intermediate supporting element is conveniently used in a manner to rst carry and lay the remaining severed end portions cf the strips forwardly over the sleeved mandrel and then used to simultaneously tuck the free ends of all the strips with a wedging effect between the forward batcher roll and the respective Sleeves on the mandrel for the starting of the new reels f the slitted material.

A more detailed description of thestructural features of the working means ofthe invention will appear in the following specification with reference to the illustrative but non-limiting practical structure shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in section and elevation and more or less diagrammatic, showing in full lines a reel of slitted fabric as completed on the' batcher rolls, and in dotted lines as moved from the batcher rolls onto the supporting cradle;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to that in Fig. 1 but showing in full -lines the completed reel of slitted material on the cradle and illustrating the application of a knife to sever transversely the portions of the strips overlying the intermediate supporting element, also in full lines, and the new sleeved mandrel placed on the fabric overlying the batcher rolls, likewise indicated in full lines, but the loose end portions of the severed strips shown as wrapped over the sleeved mandrel by use of the aforesaid intermediate supporting element as indicated in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view, partly in elevation and partly in section, illustrating the strip-winding mandrel, core sleevesand some of the reels of stripped material wound thereon;

Fig. 4 is a perspective, fragmentary view of the supporting cradle onto which the completed group of reels are placed prior to transverse severance of the strips of material;

Fig. 5 is a perspective, fragmentary view of the intermediate supporting element;

Fig. 5A is-a view, more or less schematic, showing a practical modification of the form of the teeth in the serrated edge portion of the ange of the element shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic, perspective view illustrating generally the system of carrying the web material to the cutting means, the place of transverse severance of the strips after completion of the reeling of the strips, and the way the remaining free end portions of the strips are wrapped around a new sleeved mandrel to produce more reels of the slitted material; and

Fig. '7 is a perspective. view illustrating one of the completed reels of slitted material detached.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the numerals I0, II, designate a pair of batcher rolls of a conventional web slitting and winding machine. In the usual construction and arrangement in such machines these batcher rolls are spaced apart and rotated positively by driving means (not shown) at the same speed and in the same direction as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1.

The rolls I0, II, support and impart rotation. to the reels I2 of slitted web material that are wound. and accumulated on conventional @OIC sleeves I3 slipped over a winding mandrel I4. The core sleeves I3 are generally made of paper or some other suitable fibrous material and they are provided in various widths corresponding to the different widths of the slitted material cut from the supplied web. So, too, a slitting machine is constructed for the accommodation of web material up to a given width, and the winding mandrel I4 is made of a corresponding length.

In use the several core sleeves I3 are slipped Aover the mandrel I4 so that the seams where they abut each other are substantially coincident with the line of cut between the strips of material made by the slitting knives I5 of the machines, which latter are of either a score-cutting or a shearing type. In the illustrative drawings the knives are score-cutters and arranged in a unitary assembly which is adjustable for various widths of strips to be cut but not herein shown and described in detail. Suice -it to state, that, in the use of this type of cutter, the cutting elements are circular disks having sharpened peripheral edges that are pressed against the front lbatcher roll I0, which, for the purpose, is circumferentially case-hardened to serve as a platen resisting the cutting effect of the element I5 and affording a solid support for the web material where it is slitted by said element I5.

As conventionally shown, the cutter element is mounted to rotate freely in a frame IB that is rockable on a support I'I and provided with a spring extension I8 carrying at its outer end an adjusting screw I9 abutting a shoulder 20 provided on the under side of a shelf or table 2|. The screws I9 are conventional 'in slitting machines and used to vary the pressure of the cutters I5 on the batcher roll ID. In this connection it is here noted that the shelf or table 2| has no function in the Way of handling and doiling the reels of slitted material as is required in the heretofore employed method, but is only utilized as a support for the abutments 20 and as a safety guard between the operator and the adjacent moving parts at the front of the machine. vHence, said shelf or table may be made narrower than heretofore, thus enabling the operator to have more convenient access to the batcher rolls I0, II, in placing the sleeved winding mandrel thereon and in removing the completed reels of wound slitted material therefrom.

In the conventional machine arrangement shown, the web of material to be slitted is designated by the numeral 22. It is taken from a supply roll 23,` shown fragmentarily in Figs. 1 and 2, and carried about idler guide rolls 24 and 25 to the batcher roll I0, where it is slitted by the cutter element I5.

In other types of slitting machines the web may be supplied from a folded bolt of material or a loosely rolled and somewhat flattened bolt or bundle, but, in any case, the arrangement of the machine and procedure in handling the slitted material will be substantially the same as in the illustrated machine arrangement and procedure described in connection therewith.

^ Further details of the conventional machine arrangement are deemed unnecessary, other than to state in a general way that, in the usual provisions and-arrangements in a slitting machine, the mandrel I4 has end spindles 26 that ride in guide grooves 2'I provided in vertical frame members 28 at opposite sides of the machine. These frame members have lateral openings 29 through which the end spindles 26 of the ascasaa ifi winding mandrel ll are inserted in and removed from the guide grooves 21 of said frame members it.

For the purposes of the present invention, the said openings 29, which have heretofore been provided in the frame members 28 at the side towards the front of the machine, are now pro- .vided at the rear.

The only other conventional machine element deemed necessary to describe, and that merely incidentally, is an element 3b, known as the rider roll, that is arranged and adapted to ride.

on thv,J reel It of wound slitted material and is thereby lifted gradually as the reel- I2 increases in diameter. In the usual slitting machine this rider roll is guided in its up and down movements either by the guide grooves 21 in the frame members 28 or by some other provision in the machine structure and it is cooperatively connected with a conventional mechanism (not shown) that indicates the diameter of the reel l2 attained during the winding of the stripped material therein, so that the operator may note the desired diameter attained and stop the operation of the machine, or else some provision underthe control of the lifting movement of the rider roll is made for automatically stopping operation of the machine. These features, however, do not enterdirectly into the carrying out of the method of the present invention nor the operation of the particular devices used in connection therewith. Therefore, the same are not illustrated in full detail in the drawings.

thus moving the reels i2 from the batcher rolls some oi the material is unwound from the reels and laid across the element it (see Figs. l and 2) The element tt is an important part of the present invention iuthat it not only serves to bridge the gap between the batcher rolls it, ill, and the cradle 3i, for an easy transfer of the reels i2, but also .adords a support for the unwound portions of the strips of material laid thereover for severance. In addition to this function the element it is utilized to good advantage in placing the loose end portions of the strips about a sleeved mandrel it for starting new reels lli?. For this purpose the element is provided with a blade-like plate extension dt.

As shown in Figs. l, 2 and 5, the element it is .provided with a pair of spaced, parallel, upstanding ribs or flanges it having serrated edges 36A. These serrated upstandlng portions llt securely hold the several overlying strips of material 22A stretched rmlyacross them so that thestrips are readily severed by a sharp knife (indicated at 3l in Fig. 2). 'I'he knife may be conveniently manipulated in the hand of the operator or by some suitable mechanical contrivance (not shown). A single rib or ange 36 may be provided, but it is preferable to have the spaced pair. as shown, so as to afford a guide channel between them to assure a substantially The hereinbefore generally described cradle and intermediate supporting element for use in the severance of the slitted material', the doiilng of the reeled material, and the starting of the remaining slitted material into new reels will now be more specifically set forth.

The cradle, designated generally by vthe numeral 3 I, is located just to the rear of the rear batcher roll II and in a horizontal plane approximately the same as that which is tangential to the crowns of the batcher rolls' I0. AIl. As' shown, the cradleis slightlyconcave transversely and it is preferably made in openwork or grilled, although it'may be made solid, if so desired. In length'it is usually made substantially the same as the width of the machine or atleast substantially equal to the length of the winding mandrel i4. In some machines it may be made somewhat longer so as to project at one end beyond the adjacent side of the machine. So, too, one end of the cradle may terminate adjacent a conveyor towhich the doied reels are transferred by an attendant for delivery to a place remote from the Vslitting machine; or, in some cases, where a number of slitting machines are located in a side by side installation, a'common conveyor may be provided to extend across the machines either above or at the rear of the several cradles of the respective machines in convenient reach of an attendant to transfer the doffed reels thereto from the cradles. These conveyors, in themselves, do not constitute apart of the present invention. vTherefore the I same are not shown in the drawings.

Extending alongthe forward portion of the cradle 3l isa ledge or shelf 32 having an inner shoulder 33, adjoining the cradle portion proper. This shelf as shown is an openworlk structure and on it is placed a removable, intermediate supporting element til over which the completed reels i2 of the slitted material are rolled from the loatcher rolls iii, ii, onto the cradle. lin

yresist the pull of the knife while cutting. The

line of severance of the strips 22A is indicated by the dashanddot line :zz-:c in Fig. 6.

After severance of the strips as above de- I scribed, the reels I2 intact on the mandrel Il are removed from the cradle 3i and a new sleeved mandrel is placed over the remaining strip portions on the batcher rolls iii, ii, as shown in Fig. 2. Then, in the absence of a mechanical operating provision, the operator lifts the intermediate element 34 manually from the ledge or shelf 32 of the cradle 3i, by grasping the beaded handlingportion 38 of the element that, in the normally supported position of the element, abuts the shoulder 33 of the ledge or shelf 32 and is thus held against transverse movement as the' reels l2 are moved across the element onto the cradle. To hold the element .34 against length.- wise movement on the ledge or shelf 32 the shelf may be provide'd with upstanding lugs 39 or other suitable retaining means at the ends thereof '(see Fig. 4).

over the core sleeves it on the mandrel, and

then vall that has to be done is to tuck the still extended'portions 22B of the strips simultaneously in between the sleeved mandrel and the forward batcher roll El@ by use of the blade-like plate `portion 3d of said element iii. v"llhe ele' ment id is then replaced on the ledge or shelf @il of the cradle di and everything is in readiness domng cf the same.

The form and arrangement of working elements and associated parts as herein shown conlength of strip material as cut and wound thereon in a slitting machine, comprising the moving of the mandrel and reels thereon, as a whole, laterally from the place of winding and onto a remote support and at the same time unwinding from the reels like lengths of the strips of material, laying the so unwound strips parallel on an intermediate support during such transfer movement of the mandrel and reels, temporarily holding the strips from both lengthwise and transverse movement on said intermediate support, transversely severing the several strips while so held, thereafter removing the mandrel and reels thereon from said first mentioned support, and then lifting and manipulating said intermediate support with the strip portions remaining thereon and utilizing a portion of the support to wrap the carried strip portions about a new mandrel with reel cores sleeved thereon and forcing the still loose strip portions simultaneously into intimate engagement with the winding means so as to start winding of new reels of material.

2. In a slitting and winding machine, including conventional batcher roll means on which strips of material produced in the machine are wound into reels, a support located laterally from the batcher roll means, a removable intermediate support bridging the space between the batcher roll means and. said first mentioned support, over which intermediate support the reels `of material are moved from the batcher roll means onto the first support, a portion of the material being unwound from the reels during such movement and laid across the intermediate support, and means on said intermediate support for temporarily holding the strips of material thereon from both lengthwise and transverse movement for transverse severance of the strips, said intermediate support being liftable and manipulatable with the severed strip portions remaining thereon and a portion of the support being utilizable to wrap said portions on reel cores located-on the batcher roll means and force the still free strip portions into intimate engagement with the winding means so as to start winding of new reels of material.

3. In reel dofling means in a slitting and Winding machine, a reel receiving support spaced laterally from the batcher roll means, and a detachable and freely universally movable intermediate support normally bridging the space .between said reel receiving support and the batcher roll means, said intermediate support having a serrated upstanding rib or flange to engage and temporarily hold contiguous portions of strips of slitted material laid thereacross as unwound from reels of strips rolled in a transfer movement over said intermediate support to said reel receiving support from the batcher roll means on which the respective reels arewound as the strips are produced by the cutting means of the machine, said intermediate support being liftable and manipulatable with the portions of the strips remaining thereon after a transverse severance of the strips adjacent the said serrated rib or flange of the support to wrap the carried strip portions about new reel cores placed on the batcher roll means, and a portion of the said support being utilizable to force the still free portions of the strips into in- 4timate engagement with the reel cores and the batcher roll means to start winding of new reels of material.

4. The method of dofng wound rolls of web material as supplied in a winding machine, comprising the transferring of each wound roll of the material in a reverse rolling movement laterally from the place of winding and onto a support located in the direction away from the operator facing the machine, thereby unwinding from the roll a length of the material and laying the same across an intermediate support traversed during such transfer movement of the roll, then transversely severing the unwound portion of the material at a place on said intermediate support, and thereafter removing the roll of material from said first-mentioned support, and lifting and manipulating said intermediate support with the material remaining thereon so as to carry the material towardsthe operator and to the place 0f winding, thence utilizing a part of said intermediate support in cooperation with the winding means to start winding of the material into a new roll.

5. In a web-winding machine, including a conventional batcher roll means on which the material sup-plied in the machine is wound into rolls, a support located laterally from the batcher roll means, a removable intermediate support bridging the space between the batcher roll means and said first mentioned support, over which intermediate support the wound roll of material is transferred in a reverse rolling movement from the batcher roll means and onto the first-mentioned support, a portion of the material being unwound from the roll during such transfer movement and thereby stretched across the intermediate support, and means on said intermediate support for temporarily holding the so stretched material from both lengthwise and transverse movement for severance of the material, said intermediate support, after material severance, being liftable and movable towards and over the batcher roll means, carrying therewith the portion of the material remaining thereon as severed from the wound roll, and said support |having provision for wrapping the carried material portion about a mandrel placed on the -batcher roll means for starting the winding of a new roll of the material.

6. In a web-winding machine, including conventional batcher roll means on which the material supplied in the machine is wound into rolls, a support located laterally from the batcher roll means, a removable intermediate support bridging the space between the batcher roll means and said first-mentioned support, over which intermediate support the wound roll of material is transferred in a reverse rolling movement from the batcher roll means and onto the first-mentioned support, aportion of the material being unwound from the roll during such transfer movement and thereby stretched across the intermediate support, and elongated, upstandlng, parallel, spaced apart members on said intermediate support, the same having biting edge'pOrtions for temporarily holding the so stretched material from both lengthwise and transverse movement for severance of the material, said guide for the implement by which the material V K is severed, and said intermediate support, after material severance, being liftable and movable towards and over the batcher roll means carrying therewith the portion of the material remaining thereon as severed from the wound roll and having a straight-edge portion for wrapping the carried material portion about a mandrel placed on the batcher roll means for starting the winding of a new roll of the material.

7. The method of doling wound rolls of web material as supplied in a winding machine, comprising, by a mere starting push on the part of an operator, the transferring of each wound roll of the material in a direct and uninterrupted, reverse rolling movement, freely and bodily, laterally from the place of winding across a liftable intermediate support and onto an adjacent support located in the direction away from but in convenient reach of the operator facing the machine, thereby unwinding from the roll a length 1y towards the operator and to the place of winding of a new roll of the material.

JOHN A. AYCOCK. 

